Garten Verein

In 1876, a group of German businessmen organized the Galveston Garten Verein (“garden club”) as a social club for family and friends. Construction of Garten Verein began in 1879, and the facility opened in 1880. The Garten Verein pavilion was restored in 1981 after a fire and in 1998, the entire Kempner Park and pavilion were refurbished to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund. The architect of the tiered octagonal dancing pavilion is unknown; it may have been Jon Moser, the city’s leading German architect. Garten Verein is managed by Galveston Historical Foundation.